Want to know how the air quality is for the day or if it's a no burn day? Well, there's an app for that.
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has launched an app for iPhones that delivers real-time air data.
The free Valley Air app instantly provides wood-burning forecasts as well as real-time air-quality data as it is generated, providing a tool for health protection to Valley residents.
"This is a significant milestone in our ongoing work to bring the best available technology to Valley residents in a way that is easy to use, to understand and to access as they go about their day, in order to protect their health," said Seyed Sadredin, the Air District's executive director and air pollution control officer.
During winter, the Check Before You Burn program notifies residents of whether wood burning is allowed on any given day. This information is provided on the Valley Air app, as is instant, easy access to the District's Real-time Air Advisory Network, which provides current, real-time air quality data from any of dozens of monitors throughout the eight-county air basin.
"RAAN is a far better health protection tool than the previous system, in which residents had to wait all day to find out if air quality was deteriorating," Sadredin said.
RAAN was developed by the Air District and health researchers, and is the only program of its kind in the nation.
Features of the new app also include:
• Instant access to the smoking-vehicle complaint hotline;
• Air Quality Flag program forecasts and information;
• Quick links that directly dial the Air District when you need information right away.
The app can be downloaded through any iPhone in the App Store. Applications for Android and Windows technology are expected to be available by the first of the year, officials said.